Explorers of the Pacific: European and American Discoveries in Polynesia
British Navigators, 1780 to 1800
British Navigators, 1780 to 1800
At the end of Cook's third voyage in 1780, the only important Polynesian islands remaining to be discovered were the Mangarevan (Gambier) Islands, the northern islands of the Marquesas, and a few individual islands in the page 35Cook and Tuamotu groups. The subsequent voyages discovered most of these additional islands and served as a check on the latitudes and longitudes given by the original discoverers. They also confirmed and added to the information regarding the inhabitants of the islands visited. It seems advisable at this point to depart from the strictly chronological sequence of the voyages and deal with the explorers in national groups in order to indicate the navigating activities of the various countries concerned. Commencing with the British, the dates, commanders, ships, and islands visited, are given in the following list. The few new discoveries are in capitals and small capitals.
Date | Commander | Ships | Islands |
---|---|---|---|
1785-1788 | Portlock, Nathaniel | King George | Hawaii |
1785-1788 | Dixon, George | Queen Charlotte | Hawaii |
1786-1787 | Meares, John | Nootka and Sea Otter | Hawaii |
1787-1788 | Watts, John | Lady Penrhyn | Kermadecs, Tahiti, Tongareva |
1787-1789 | Bligh, William | Bounty | Society, Aitutaki, Tonga |
1788-1789 | Meares, John | Felice and Iphigenia | Hawaii |
1789 | Mortimer, George | Mercury | Society, Hawaii |
1790-1791 | Edwards, Edward | Pandora | Society, Tuamotu, Tonga, Samoa, Tokelau |
1791-1795 | Vancouver, George | Discovery and Chatham | Society, Rapa, Marquesas, Hawaii, Chatham |
1791-1793 | Bligh, William | Providence and Assistant | Society, Aitutaki, Tuamotu |
1795-1798 | Broughton, William | Providence | Society, Hawaii |
1796-1798 | Wilson, James | Duff | Mangareva, Tuamotu, Society, Tonga, Marquesas |